The Test
by MysteryTheHedgehog
Summary: A sequel to Lilly's route. Lilly fears she is pregnant; how will Hisao react to the news?
1. Part 1

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

As Lilly slowly but carefully made her way to apartment 214, the rhythmic tapping of her cane was the only indication she has that she was making any progress at all. Lilly counted the taps in her head, using them to track how much farther she had to go. It took fifty-five taps before she was at the right apartment; she had made sure she counted when she first made the journey and she had not forgotten it. Presently she was at forty-two.

It had been six months since she had intended to leave Japan to work for her father up in Scotland. She had stayed because of Hisao. The pair having since graduated from Yamaku, Lilly had found herself a job more locally and had bought herself a modest house in the town nearby, while Hisao had moved on to the local university and was living in an apartment in the city - that same apartment was her destination today. The pair's love had strengthened greatly following Hisao's recovery from that second heart attack, and had never wavered; today, however, Lilly feared that could be about to change.

_Tap_. Fifty-three. _Tap_. Fifty-four. _Tap_. Fifty-five. Lilly turned, took a small step forward and placed the palm of her free hand against what she hoped would be the door to apartment 214. After a moment's search her fingers found what she was looking for; a cold metal plaque, probably brass, with "214" deeply engraved upon it. Yes, this was the place. She took her hand away from the door, then rapped smartly upon it with her knuckles.

After a moment's pause she heard the door open, and then she heard Hisao's voice. "Hey Lilly." he said casually, then, in a slight more concerned voice, "Shouldn't you be at work right now?"

"I called in sick." Lilly's voice carried its own note of concern. "Hisao...there is an urgent matter I must discuss with you. May I come in?"

"Uh...of course." Hisao sounded a little of confused, and Lilly couldn't blame him, not when she herself didn't have all the facts. Not quite yet. _In any case_, she thought to herself, _I have to tell him. This concerns him as much as me_.

Lilly heard another small creak as Hisao opened the door wider, and soft footsteps as he stood aside to let her in. She stepped forward into the apartment, cane once again tapping out her progress. As she heard the door close behind her, she turned to face the sound; or rather, she turned to face Hisao, knowing him to be somewhere in the vicinity of the sound but, without any sense of vision, unable to face him exactly. It always secretly pained her that eye contact, apparently something so vital in important situations such as this, was beyond her.

"So, what's this urgent matter that's more important than your work?" asked Hisao. His voice attempted to sound casual, but Lilly could pick up something in his voice that told her he was very much afraid of what the answer might be. _And I don't blame him_, she thought to herself.

She took a deep breath, preparing to deliver the dreaded news.

"Hisao..." she said, her voice quiet, "I think...I think I'm pregnant."

The last word seemed to echo in the silence that followed. Lilly didn't have to see Hisao's face, or hear Hisao's eventual response, to know that the news had stunned him. She had expected that reaction.

"Pregnant?" Hisao eventually stammered. "Y...you..." His voice fell silent for a moment, and when it returned it again had that false calm about it, as though he were forcing himself not to freak out. "Why do you think that?"

"My period's late." replied Lilly frankly. "At first I wasn't concerned, but it's been a few days now, and...I'm worried."

It took Hisao a few seconds to formulate a response, but eventually she heard him say, "You said you _think _you're pregnant. You don't know for certain? Have you taken a-"

"Pregnancy test?" Lilly finished Hisao's question for him, then smiled. "No, I haven't; in fact, that's why I've come here. Of course I intend to take a pregnancy test, but I need someone to read the result for me." Lilly reached a hand into her pocket and took out a small rectangular box, that she knew from the Braille printed on the side contained a pregnancy test. "I hope you don't mind?"

Lilly waited a few seconds while Hisao grasped what she was asking. "So...you're going to take the test here, then get me to tell you what it says?" he asked.

"Yes." said Lilly; then, deciding to try and lighten the mood, she added, "Sadly they don't do Braille pregnancy tests."

"How would that even work?" asked Hisao.

Lilly pouted as her attempt at humour failed. "Good question." she said. "Now, shall we get this over with?"

Hisao directed her to the bathroom - she hadn't used it enough times to memorize its position within the apartment yet - and Lilly took the pregnancy test out of its box, holding it between her slender fingers.

_It's funny_, Lilly thought to herself._ I thought tests would stop determining my future once I left Yamaku, but here I am with another test that could change everything forever. The question is_, she thought, as she began removing her skirt, _do I want to pass this test, or fail it?_

* * *

A few minutes later and Lilly emerged from the bathroom, pregnancy test in hand. It had already beeped to tell her that it had the result; now, it was time for that result to be revealed.

"Is it ready?" came Hisao's voice. Lilly turned slightly so she was facing it - more or less.

"Yes." she replied. She held the pregnancy test out in front of her for Hisao to see. She could feel that the hand holding it was trembling. She could only imagine how nervous Hisao was at this moment. "So, what does it say?"

Lilly waited. Moments passed, each one feeling like an eternity as it crawled by. Still Hisao did not answer her; it seemed whatever the test result was, it has struck him dumb. Finally Lilly could deal with the uncertainty and anxiety no longer.

"Well, Hisao?" she asked, desperation creeping into her voice. "What does the test say? Hisao?"


	2. Part 2

"Hisao?" Still he did not reply. _Come on, Hisao_, though Lilly in a sudden bout of selfishness. _This is stressing me out enough without this anxious_...wait. _Wait a second_.

Lilly's sightless eyes widened as a thought struck her like a hammer blow. If this was stressing _her_ out, all this must be stressing Hisao out even more. And if Hisao was getting stressed out..._oh God. I've been so stupid_, she thought.

In a panic Lilly reached forward, her fingers feeling out Hisao's shoulders. "Hisao?" Her voice was overflowing with concern. "Are you okay?"

"M...my heart..." came the strained reply.

Her worst fears confirmed, Lilly quickly rushed into action. She held Hisao in a gentle embrace, his head resting on her shoulder. He clumsily returned the embrace, as though clinging to her for dear life. She could feel his heartbeat against her own chest. Bump-bump. Bump-bump. Bump-bump. It was louder and quicker than it should be. She gently stroked his hair in an attempt to calm him down further.

"It's going to be okay, Hisao." she reassured him. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." She felt Hisao's head move against her shoulder as he nodded anxiously.

Gradually Hisao's heartbeat calmed, returning to its normal volume and speed. Bump-bump...bump-bump...bump-bump. Lilly breathed a sigh of relief. He was okay. He was going to be okay.

"I'm sorry, Hisao. This is my fault."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. And then, the next thing she knew, tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Lilly? What do you mean? What's wrong?" She could hear the concern in Hisao's voice.

"Oh, Hisao...I've been so selfish." She shook her head furiously. "I should never have asked you to do this for me, I should have known it would be too much of a strain for you, and the whole time I was only worried about myself...I'm so sorry..."

She felt the warmth of Hisao's body as he held her close. It seemed it was now his turn to comfort her, as she had comforted him just moments ago, the difference being that Lilly was in no immediate danger of dying. Quite the opposite.

"It's okay, Lilly." said Hisao gently. "I mean, sure, this whole thing stressed me out, especially coming so suddenly, but I can't imagine how you've been feeling. I mean, you're the one carrying the-"

A faint clapping sound signalled Hisao clamping his hand over his mouth to silence himself, but too late; the revelation had been made. The abrupt silence that ensued echoed louder in Lilly's ears than Hisao's words had. Carrying a baby. _The_ baby. She was carrying their baby. The test was positive. She was pregnant.

"I'm sorry." said Hisao suddenly. Lilly did not attempt to work out if he was apologizing for the actual pregnancy, or merely for having announced its existence in such a manner. Her thought process seemed to have shut down, consumed entirely by a sole prospect: _Pregnant. I'm pregnant. I'm going to be a mother._

"It's alright, Hisao." Lilly heard herself say, in a voice that did not seem to be her own. "I should go. I have a lot to think about."

Lilly turned towards where she knew the door to be and her legs mechanically bore her towards it. _A child. Hisao and I can't support a child on our wages...oh no. My job._

"Lilly?" Hisao's voice seemed faint and distant, though he was still little more than ten feet behind her. "Are you okay? You seem to be taking this pretty hard."

_I know of people who have returned from maternity leave to find their jobs have been given to others. _"No, Hisao. I'm fine." A mechanical smile, although as she was facing away from him, he could not see it. _The same could easily happen to me. My ambitions, my parents' ambitions, up in smoke._

"Well, if you insist. I'll see you later, then."

_See._

"Goodbye, Hisao."

After an initial fumble for the door handle, Lilly opened the door and closed it behind her, leaving her alone in the corridor. _See._ Before she was aware of what she was doing, she had sunk to her knees, weeping openly into her hands, succumbing to one final tragic thought.

_I'll never see my child's own face. I'll never know how beautiful they are._


	3. Part 3

"The time is...nine...seventeen...AM."

Had Lilly pressed the button on the clock on her nightstand, it would have told her this in its robotic drawl. She would realize that she was now seventeen minutes late for work. But Lilly was not concerned about that at present. It was not that she was oblivious to the relentless passing of time; she had some inkling of how late she was. She merely had more pressing concerns.

It was three weeks after Lilly had found out about her pregnancy, and for the last four days she had been suffering from morning sickness. It disoriented her, blurring her mental map of her surroundings and causing her to retch every dozen or so steps, and so she found it preferable to simply lie in bed until the nausea had passed. At first it had not affected her, since it began on a Saturday, but today was Tuesday and she had work. She had already been two hours late yesterday due to the wretched sickness, and Lilly decided that tonight she would set her alarm clock two hours earlier, so that she would recover from the sickness in time for work.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low buzz as her cellphone vibrated on the nightstand. Someone was calling her. Groggily she rolled out of bed, sat on the side of the mattress and took the phone in her hand. Lilly had memorized the layout of the buttons on the handset, and after briefly running her thumb across the buttons to find the right one, she answered the call and put the handset to her ear. "Hello?"

"What's the world coming to," said the slightly masculine and very familiar voice on the other end, "when a girl has to find out about her own sister's pregnancy from a third party?"

"Akira." replied Lilly. She had been dreading this conversation, and now it was going to be that much worse. "I've been trying to call you, of course I have, but every time I try the line is busy-"

"For _three weeks._" The usual calmness and laid-back tone of Akira's voice was replaced with exasperation, frustration and more than a hint of disapproval. "Hanako told me she knew _three weeks ago_. When exactly were you planning on telling me?"

"I told you, I was going to tell you-"

"Of course you were."

Her sister's reaction, on top of all her existing stress, was too much for Lilly and she too could no longer keep calm. "Well, if I wasn't going to tell you," she barked at the handset, "it would be because I knew you were going to react like this!" She tried to restrain herself, but found that now she had created an outlet for all her frustration, she could not stop it surging forth, and so she continued. "Do you have any idea how much stress I'm going through at the moment? I'm losing money because my morning sickness is stopping me getting to work on time, if it stays like this I'm going to get fired, Hisao's one piece of bad news away from going back in the hospital, or worse..." Lilly finally forced herself to calm down before concluding, "The least I could expect from my sister...is a little support-"

Lilly was barely able to finish speaking before her nausea overcame her and she doubled over, retching violently. She had gotten herself too worked up and now she was paying for it. She felt the foul acidic taste rise in her throat before forcing its way out of her mouth as a small quantity of vomit, taking what energy she had with it. She placed her hands on her shaking knees for support.

"Sis? What just happened? Are you okay?"

_She still cares about you, Lilly. She just over-reacted, just as you did when you first found out._Lilly put the handset back to her ear. "I'm okay, Akira, it's just a bit of morning sickness. I'll be fine."

"Okay. I'll call Hanako, have her come over to look after you. And I'll call work, let 'em know your circumstances. They'll be cool with it, trust me."

_I don't need looking after, Akira,_ thought Lilly tempestuously, _I can take care of myself._ Then she remembered her own words from barely a moment ago. _A little support._That was what she had asked for. That, surely, was what Akira was offering her right now. Lilly had to admit that with the disorientation the nausea was causing her, she had no idea if she'd vomited over the floor, the bed, the nightstand, herself...and in any case, the vomiting had flushed all the remaining energy from her and she possessed neither the strength nor the motivation to clean up. Perhaps she could use some help there. Akira probably knew this, but had been too polite to say it outright.

Lilly's thoughts were interrupted by a heavy sigh from the other end of the line, before her sister continued in a sympathetic, apologetic tone. "Look, I'm sorry, sis. I over-reacted." _Just as I thought. Don't worry, sis, so did I._"You're right, I have no idea what you're going through right now. While I may not agree with your decision, and neither will Mom and Dad when they find out - I'm assuming you haven't told them either - if you and Hisao think you're ready for this, then I'm willing to support you every step of the way."

"Thank you, Akira." Lilly replied. "And...I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that."

"Forget about it." Akira seemed to be back to her usual self. "Well, I'd better be going. I've got some calls to make." She emphasized the last point, as if to try and make Lilly feel guilty about not telling her parents - which, as Akira had correctly guessed, she had not done.

"Oh, before you go," said Lilly, struck by a passing thought, "one more thing. Could you not tell Miss Hakamichi about my circumstances? I'd never hear the end of it, from her or her father."

"Why, Lilly, was that a joke at our cousin's expense?" replied Akira in a tone of mock indignation, apparently picking up on the use of the words "tell" and "hear". Relations between Lilly and her deaf-mute cousin appeared to have been repaired by the time she left Yamaku for what she thought would be the final time, but since her return they seemed to have turned sour again. Lilly allowed herself a wry smile.

"A joke at Shizune's expense?" she repeated innocently. "My, I wouldn't dream of such a thing."

A dry chuckle sounded through the handset. "Don't worry," said Akira, "I won't tell her."

"Thank you." said Lilly. "Goodbye."

"Later, sis." _Click._

Lilly ran her thumb across the buttons again, found the button that ended the call, and pressed it. She hesitated to put the phone back on the nightstand in case she had vomited all over it, and with no energy to do anything else, she merely slipped back into bed and lay there, phone still in her hand, waiting for Hanako to arrive.

Lilly's friend had not recovered from her crippling fear of other people since graduating from Yamaku. She had become a virtual shut-in, living in an apartment in the same building as Hisao, only leaving for grocery shopping and the occasional visit to Lilly or Hisao. She had, however, gained an interest in writing, apparently due to her time spent in the school's newspaper club. Whenever Lilly entered Hanako's apartment she was met by the clicking of keys as her friend worked feverishly on whatever new story she was writing. The sound would stop abruptly as Hanako noticed Lilly's presence, the two would greet each other, and then a moment later Lilly would feel herself pushed backwards as Hanako came flying in for a hug.

Lilly had indeed told Hanako of her pregnancy almost immediately after leaving Hisao's apartment on the day she learned of her pregnancy. Hanako was excited by the news and was pleased for her two friends, and helped cheer Lilly up after her breakdown outside Hisao's door - a breakdown Lilly was now slightly ashamed of. She had never regretted being blind before; there was no point in starting now purely for her child's sake.

Hisao had also informed his own parents of his girlfriend's pregnancy. According to Hisao, they too had taken the news well; they were happy for the two of them, and confident they would be able to raise a happy and healthy child together. Lilly had at first doubted that this was their honest opinion on the matter, and suspected they had hidden their true feelings to prevent Hisao from getting unduly stressed out. She was so concerned about this that she made her own private phone call to Hisao's parents, whereupon she was relieved to discover they truly were happy for the couple - Lilly would have known if they were lying, being an excellent judge of tone - and were happy for the pregnancy to go ahead. On one condition.

_That reminds me,_ thought Lilly. _I really should get back to him._Once more her slender finger traced its way across the cellphone's buttons, this time tapping them in sequence as the desired buttons were found. When the number had been entered, Lilly put the phone back to her ear as it rang. On the third ring it was answered.

"Hey, Lilly." said Hisao's voice. "What's up?"

"Hisao...I've been thinking about what you said the other day." said Lilly.

"And?"

For the second time in a month, Lilly and Hisao's relationship - and their lives - were about to take a great step forward. But while the first had been unplanned, a surprise from Nature, the second was their own choice, their own step forward. Together. Lilly took a breath in.

"Yes." said Lilly. "I will marry you."


	4. Part 4

It had happened two days earlier. Lilly had just finished lunch when there was a knock on the door. She swiftly crossed to the door and answered it, her morning sickness having long since subsided.

"Hey, Lilly." It was Hisao's voice. "May I come in?"

"Of course you may, Hisao." Lilly stepped aside to let Hisao in. She heard a brief rustle as he slipped off his shoes and laid them aside, then footsteps as he crossed the threshold. Once she had heard enough footsteps to confirm he was out of the doorway, she closed the door behind them.

"My, my, this is a pleasant surprise." said Lilly.

"I know." Hisao's tone was almost businesslike. "I came here because there's something we need to discuss." Lilly felt Hisao take her hand in his. It was warm. "I heard you talked to my parents." he continued.

"I did."

"Then you know their conditions." said Hisao. "We can't have this child unless we get married."

Lilly nodded gently. "I understand. I'm sure my parents will feel the same way."

"You haven't talked to them yet?" Hisao sounded surprised.

"To be honest," replied Lilly, "I'm a bit apprehensive about telling them. I don't know whether they'll approve of our decision."

"I'm sure they'll be fine with it." Hisao said reassuringly. "They were fine with you staying here in Japan."

Lilly nodded. He had a point. "That's true." But even so...

"Well, anyway," said Hisao, steering the conversation back on his intended course, "I was in town a couple of days ago and I picked up a little something." Lilly could guess what that little something was.

There was a brief rustling sound, followed by a small click. Although Lilly could not see what was happening, she could imagine it, and while it was not exactly how she had first imagined it happening, it was still enough to make her heart flutter with excitement.

"Marry me, Lilly." said Hisao. "Marry me, and together we'll raise this child. You and me. I love you, Lilly."

Lilly could feel tears begin to gather at the corners of her sightless eyes. This was so beautiful. And yet there was something nagging in the back of her mind. She ignored it for now.

"Oh, Hisao...I love you too."

There was a pause, then Lilly felt Hisao move her hand slightly. Something cold and metallic slid smoothly onto her ring finger. The engagement ring. How she had dreamt of this moment. But never quite like this. "Could you...describe the ring to me?"

"It's 18-carat gold." said Hisao. Lilly tried to picture the colour in her mind. Gold was riches, wealth and luxury. "It's set with a flawless emerald, with several smaller diamonds set around that." Emeralds. Those were green; the colour of grass. Diamonds were...white, were they not? Lilly's favourite colour; the colour of snow and ice cream. Some people had told her that pure diamonds were colourless, but Lilly found herself quite unable to picture a colourless object. "They sparkle so brightly." Hisao continued. "I wish you could see them, Lilly."

"Wishes won't fix my eyes, Hisao." responded Lilly bluntly. "It's no problem at all, and you shouldn't worry about it."

"Of course. Sorry."

Hisao was being overly-sensitive about her disability again. This happened less frequently these days, but still occasionally. Lilly decided to try and lighten the mood. "What you _should_ worry about," she said, in a mock threatening tone, "is if you're lying to me, and this ring is merely some cheap knock-off you bought in the hopes I wouldn't realize. I will find out, Nakai. I have my ways."

Hisao must have stood up, for he now held Lilly in a tender embrace. "Come now, Lilly," he said, in a gentle tone that made it clear he knew she was joking. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

Lilly smiled and shook her head. She had always admired Hisao's honesty. Speaking of honesty...the thing that had been nagging her before returned to her mind. He gently pushed Hisao away from her.

"Lilly?" said Hisao, in a confused tone. "Is something wrong?" _Of course something is wrong. You know there is. You can see it in my face._

"Hisao..." Lilly tried to find the words to express what she wanted to say. Finally she found them, and with a deep breath she began. "I'm sorry. Really, I am. But...it just feels to me like we're only doing this for our child's sake, and not our of love for each other. I know these are your parents' terms, and I know how important this is to you, but...it doesn't feel right. I don't want to marry you for the sake of someone who isn't even alive yet. I want to marry you for our sakes. I want to marry you because I love you."

Hisao placed his hand upon her cheek. Again, it was warm, and a bit sweaty. She could only imagine how nervous he had been about proposing, and now she was shooting him down...Lilly felt terrible, but she had to clear her chest.

"But you do love me, don't you, Lilly?" asked Hisao in a hushed voice.

"Of course I do, Hisao. I just..." Lilly couldn't say no to Hisao. She just couldn't. But right now, in this state of mind, she just couldn't say yes either. "Give me some time to think about it. Please. I'll get back to you with my answer as soon as I can. I promise."

To her relief, Hisao replied, "Okay. I understand. I'll wait...but I won't wait forever."

Lilly's hand searched out Hisao's own cheek. "I mean it, Hisao. I really do love you."

"I know." said Hisao.

The next thing Lilly knew, they had embraced once more, their lips pressed against each other in a passionate kiss. To her surprise, Lilly realized it was the first time they had kissed since the revelation of her pregnancy three weeks ago. She did not want it to end. She did not want Hisao to go. But eventually his lips parted from hers, and he said, "I have to go now. I'll see you later."

"Hisao-"

"Think about it. Take all the time you need."

"I will."

And with that, Hisao was gone, a thud signalling the door closing behind him. Lilly crossed to the sofa and sat down. She was ready and willing to marry Hisao, she was sure of that. It was his reasons for wanting to marry her that, try as she might, she could not ignore. To her it felt like he was more concerned about the baby than her, in terms of their union.

Over the next two days, Lilly had plenty of time to think about the situation. Eventually she had come to a decision. Yes, their main motivation for getting married was the child. No, it was not the reason she had wanted him to propose. But hadn't she dreamed of him proposing? And had he not just done so? The reasons were irrelevant. They both wanted this marriage, and for Lilly to deny Hisao because of its circumstances was selfishness on her part.

And so we return to the Tuesday morning on which Akira and Lilly had had their heart-to-heart over the phone. After the call had ended, Lilly had phoned Hisao, and given him her answer.

"Yes." she had said. "I will marry you."

"Y-you will?" Hisao sounded overjoyed. "Lilly, that's wonderful! I- thank you!"

"You're quite welcome." said Lilly. "I thought about everything, and it seemed selfish of me to deny us this chance, just because I felt the circumstances weren't right. The circumstances are irrelevant. We love each other, and we want to be together, always. That's all that matters."

"Yes, that's right." said Hisao. He sounded glad that she had come to her senses. "I'd been thinking about proposing to you anyway."

"You had?"

"Yeah. I guess you could say I was too nervous. But I didn't really have a choice, in the end."

"Of course you did, Hisao." said Lilly. "There are always choices. It just so happens you've made the right one on this occasion."

"So have you."

"I suppose I have."

There was silence for a moment before Hisao spoke again. "We should start preparing for the wedding, then. Find a venue, invite guests, get a cake, _tell our families..._"

Lilly could tell that that last one was directed at her. "Don't worry, Hisao," she reassured him, "I'll tell them.'

"Good. Okay, I'll talk to you later, then."

"Goodbye, Hisao." said Lilly. "I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." And with that, Hisao hung up. Lilly placed the phone back on the nightstand, feeling as though she could sing with joy. She and Hisao were to be married. They were going to have a baby together and live a wonderful, wonderful life. Things could not be more perfect at this moment.


	5. Part 5

A timid knock a short while later signalled Hanako's arrival, answering Akira's summons. She immediately busied herself with helping Lilly clean up the mess in the bedroom, after which the two sat down on the edge of the (mercifully clean) bed to talk.

"So," prompted Lilly, "how have you been recently? It's been too long since we last saw each other." Technically speaking, Lilly had never "seen" Hanako, but both parties understood her meaning.

"I...I've been g-good, thanks." Hanako's voice was barely audible even in the silence surrounding them. Something in her tone made Lilly doubt her statement.

"How is your novel coming along?" The last time Hanako had spoken to Lilly she had revealed that she was writing a fantasy novel. She hadn't told Lilly much about it, and Lilly wondered how much inspiration she had drawn from her own life.

"Oh, I...I k-kind of got w-writer's block." stammered Hanako. Lilly could feel Hanako's tension, though she could not see the anxious look on her face. She didn't want to be here. Lilly pulled her friend close, drawing her into a tight embrace.

"Hanako, please don't be frightened." she cooed. "You know I won't hurt you, or upset you." Her tone grew more serious as she continued, "It's been about three months now, hasn't it?"

Lilly felt Hanako's head move against her chest as she nodded. Was that a tear that fell onto her breast just now?

"I-I've tried to f-forget about it...to m-move on...I want t-to, but...i-it's hard...and I..." Hanako grew silent again, and Lilly gently stroked her friend's hair to comfort her. She faintly remembered doing the same to Hisao just a few weeks ago, albeit in rather different circumstances. Silently, she looked back at - and rued - the incident that had caused Hanako to withdraw so violently inside herself.

* * *

Following her graduation from Yamaku, Hanako had made excellent progress. She had made good friends with the newspaper club members, Naomi and Natsume, and had even gone on a trip with them. Lilly felt confident that her friend would finally be able to live a normal life; get a job, earn money, and find a man who would appreciate her for who she was, without being appalled by her scars. Hanako was fairly confident of this herself.

Then, three months ago, Hanako and Naomi had been on a shopping trip in the city near Yamaku where they now resided. As Lilly had not been present, she did not know the exact details of what had happened, but from Naomi's testimony and what little she had coaxed out of Hanako, her knowledge of the incident was sufficient to relay it in good detail.

Having finished their shopping, Naomi and Hanako decided to have lunch, at a restaurant they, Lilly and some other Yamaku students and graduates had often visited. However, upon arriving they found the restaurant to be under new management; this new management took a rather dim view of some of the Yamaku student's disabilities, believing they put the other diners off their food, and refused to allow Hanako in.

Had Lilly been present and not Naomi, she would have been perfectly happy to leave with Hanako and simply not return, maintaining her composure in the face of the staff's discrimination. Naomi, however, was not willing to forgive this slight against her friend and berated the staff, vehemently demanding that Hanako be allowed entry. When the manager arrived to see what the commotion was about she berated him too.

By now, all the diners' attentions had been turned first to the argument, and then to its subject. The combination of dozens of piercing stares from the patrons, the management's insinuations that her appearance was somehow offensive or off-putting, and Naomi's increasingly attacking defense, was too much for Hanako, and she had suffered a massive panic attack right there in the diner.

Hanako had had to be taken to hospital, during which time she closed herself off completely. She refused to even talk to Lilly for a time, as though blaming the entire incident on her absence. She had slowly opened up again as the months passed since the incident, but nowhere near as much as before, and Lilly knew it had deeply affected her. Today was perhaps the second or third time Hanako had ventured outside during the day since she had been discharged.

* * *

"Well, dwelling on it won't do you any good." said Lilly. "Please, Hanako. I don't want to worry about you like this all the time, and I know you don't want me to worry about you, but you're making me worry, and right now I have enough to worry about as it is."

"I'm s-s-sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, Hanako." said Lilly. "None of this is your fault."

"I-I'll try...t-to forget about it..." whispered Hanako.

Lilly decided that perhaps this was a good time to bring up the marriage proposal, to try and cheer her friend up a bit. "Perhaps this will take your mind off things." she began, releasing her grip on Hanako. "Hisao and I have some wonderful news."

"I-is it...about the p-pregnancy?" asked Hanako. Her tone was less sad now, and more inquisitive, as she quickly took the bait and latched onto this new and less depressing conversation.

"Well, I suppose it is related in a way." Lilly conceded. "You see, Hisao and I-" she raised the hand with the ring on it "-are engaged to be married."

"Th-that's...wonderful, Lilly..." Lilly could sense the happiness in Hanako's voice, and imagine the sympathetic smile on her face. "When...w-when did he-"

"A couple of days ago." replied Lilly, pre-empting her friend's question. "I'll admit, I needed some time to think about it, but I have given him my consent."

Lilly felt the lightest of touches on her hand as Hanako examined the ring. "I-is this the..." Her voice was breathless with wonder.

"Yes. Hisao tells me it's solid gold, with a large emerald and many smaller diamonds around it." Lilly had no reason to doubt Hisao, but an honest, unbiased assessment was still preferable.

"Y-yes...it looks b-beautiful..." Lilly could sense a tinge of sadness in Hanako's voice. Perhaps she was despairing that she would never find love because of her scars. It was a few moments before Hanako spoke again. "Have you...have you s-set a date yet?"

"No, we haven't begun planning things yet." said Lilly. "Though I would assume that the sooner we hold the wedding, the better. Perhaps within the next two months. I don't want to walk down the aisle with an enormous baby bump, and have everyone thinking we're only doing this for the child's sake." They weren't. Lilly had decided that for herself.

"Th-that's not much time t-to plan...a-and wedding are ex...expensive..."

"I know, Hanako," said Lilly with a sigh, "but it can't be helped given the circumstances." Lilly paused; a thought had just occurred to her. "Say, Hanako...I know this might be sudden, but would you mind being maid of honour at the wedding?"

"M-me? I-"

"Certainly. I can't think of anyone I'd want to be maid of honour more than my best friend." Lilly smiled warmly at Hanako. "You don't have to give me an answer right away, of course, but-"

"N-no, I...I'll do it."

Hanako's immediate affirmative took Lilly momentarily by surprise, but then her smile grew even brighter. "Excellent." she said. "I'm delighted to hear that. Thank you, Hanako."

"N-no...thank you f-for asking..." Modest as ever. In the ensuing silence Lilly pondered who Hisao could ask to be best man; it seemed to her that he hadn't made all that many male friends while he was at Yamaku. The only people Lilly could think of as possible candidates were Kenji, who would probably have a hernia if he found out Hisao was getting married, and her cousin Hideaki, who had talked to Hisao maybe three or four times.

Lilly's stomach rumbled, reminding her that she was still empty after her morning sickness. "Oh my. I think I'd better get myself some lunch. Would you like to stay for lunch, Hanako?"

"Y-yes...I'll s-stay..." The alternative, of course, was to leave Lilly's room and go back outside. Hanako wished to put that moment off for as long as she could.

"Good to hear. You can help if you like."

Lilly and Hanako headed out to the kitchen and started preparing lunch. Lilly was glad to meet Hanako again; it had been too long in her opinion. Hanako, too, was glad to finally break out of her shell slightly. For both, this was more than just making lunch; this was a break from the madness their worlds had become.


	6. Part 6

Just two weeks after Lilly had accepted Hisao's marriage proposal, she and Akira were driving into the city in her sister's car, to try on the wedding dress she had had made for her. Lilly had left her cane at home, and would instead be relying on her sister for guidance once they reached the shop, gently pinching the sleeve of Akira's customary pinstriped suit.

"Trust me, sis, you're gonna love it." said Akira. "I've seen it myself, it's fantastic. I'd love to get married in a dress like this one."

"You're just saying all of this to make me more excited about it, aren't you?" asked Lilly with a smile.

"Well, there's that," Akira conceded, "but it _is_ true. If you don't like this dress, I'll eat my tie."

Lilly heard the ticking of the indicator, then felt a slight lean as the car turned at an intersection. It was silent for a moment "Are we almost there yet?" asked Lilly.

Akira chuckled. "That's the second time you've asked that. You're like an impatient little kid."

"I am." Lilly smiled. "This is just like when you took me to pick out my kimono for Shichi-Go-San, when I was seven."

"God, that feels like such a long time ago now, doesn't it?" remarked Akira. "And yet it seems like just yesterday..." The car started to slow down. "Alright, here we are." Akira pulled up in an empty parking space next to the sidewalk.

"Oh my..." All at once Lilly felt more nervous and excited than she ever had. "Hold my hand, please, Akira."

Akira chuckled again. "You're still a child, aren't you? Come on." The pair got out of the car, Lilly getting out right next to the sidewalk to avoid any danger from cars. Akira walked round to the other side of the car, took Lilly's hand and together they went inside.

Lilly instantly noticed the scent of gentle perfume floating in the air of the shop. It was a pleasant smell, a delightful one. There was an air of quiet in the place as well; a beautiful reverent silence. Lilly did not sense anyone else around, but a moment later a voice spoke from what couldn't have been more than six feet in front of her. It was a cool, gentle female voice, befitting of such a tranquil place.

"Ah, Miss Satou, you received our message. Welcome back." Lilly felt the slightest disturbance in the air in front of her as the lady bowed in greeting to her older sister. "And this must be the younger sister, the bride." The lady was talking to her now. Another almost imperceptible disturbance, another bow. "Welcome, madame. The dress is ready for you to try on, if you wish. We hope you like it."

"Thank you." said Lilly, bowing gracefully in return. Akira echoed her, before gently guiding her through the shop, past the unseen mannequins modelling unseen dresses. Lilly had had no input in the dress's design whatsoever, beyond allowing Akira to make a detailed set of measurements to give to the dress shop. Akira had insisted on doing it all herself, as her way of helping her younger sister out, and as a gift to the bride-to-be. Akira seemed to be taking control of her sister's wedding to a degree, as she had also asked Hanako to help with the catering - at which point she had found out about Hanako's appointment as maid of honour, something she had no qualms with.

"Oh, and I asked Shizune to take care of hiring the band to play at the reception." Akira had joked, mercilessly mocking her cousin's deafness.

"Oh? What did she say?" asked Lilly with a wry smile.

"I dunno, something like..." There was a series of sharp swishing sounds as Akira jerked her arms about in a crude imitation of Shizune's sign language. Lilly chuckled.

"Oh my...we probably shouldn't poke fun at her like this." she said, stifling her laughter.

"Nah, probably not." admitted Akira. "Funny as hell, though." she had added, drawing another chuckle from her sister.

Back in the present, Akira manoeuvred Lilly to a stop. "Okay, it's right in front of you."

"Well, I'd be surprised if it was behind us." remarked Lilly drily.

Akira chuckled for the third time that day. "Sorry, I am kinda babying you, aren't I?"

"It's understandable." reasoned Lilly. "You're just as excited about this as I am, after all, it's not every day you get to plan your little sister's wedding. Anyway, it's preferable to me blindly proceeding forwards and knocking everything over." She tentatively raised a hand, holding it just in front of her. "May I...?"

"Of course." The shop owner's gentle voice drifted from another part of the shop. Of course she was nearby; she would want to see if Lilly approved of her hard work.

Lilly reached forward until her hand brushed against a soft fabric. She gently ran a finger down the front. It was smooth to the touch, her finger gliding across it with the slightest effort. "Is this...silk?"

"Only the best for my little sis." said Akira, smiling.

"White silk?" asked Lilly tentatively.

"Of course."

Lilly delicately ran her fingertips across the fabric, feeling out the contours, exploring every detail. There was a small lace pattern around the neckline, which itself was neither too conservative nor too revealing; the perfect balance. There was more lace on the sleeves too. The midriff seemed to be...perhaps a bit loose? This was no doubt to accommodate the baby bump that she could well have by the time of the wedding, though she was specifically attempting to hold it as soon as possible in order to avoid that. The skirt of the dress was long, wide and flowing, in the Western tradition, mostly consisting of several thin layers of yet more lace; it seemed to go down beyond Lilly's ankles.

Having taken in every detail, Lilly straightened up, a mental image of her dress taking shape in her mind. _My dress...this is really my dress. This wonderful dress...it belongs to me..._ Tears of joy began to form in Lilly's eyes. _My wedding dress..._

"Is the dress to your liking, madame?" asked the shop owner. A hint of nervousness pervaded her tone. She needed to hear it. Perhaps...no, surely, she could tell from Lilly's body language what her feelings were. But she needed to hear it to be sure.

Lilly took out a handkerchief and dabbed at her sightless eyes with it. "It's the most beautiful dress I've ever known." she sobbed.

"Hey, come here." Akira wrapped her arms around Lilly and hugged her tightly. Lilly returned the hug, tears of ecstasy dripping onto her sister's shoulder, smiling from ear to ear.

"Thank you, Akira." said Lilly. "Thank you so much."

"No problem." Akira replied, gently stroking her sister's hair. "But you know, you're gonna have to buy me my wedding dress when I get married, now."

Lilly found herself stifling a giggle. "What?" asked Akira, bemused. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry, Akira, it's just..." Lilly shook her head, as though trying to dismiss the thought from her mind. "...the thought of you in a white dress, when all you ever wear are suits..."

"I don't always wear suits!" protested Akira. "I'd make that dress look just as good as you would...except it wouldn't fit me, of course..."

"No, indeed." Lilly wiped her eyes again, with her hand this time. Then she released her sister and turned to face where she thought the shop owner was. "I take it this is fully paid for?"

"Of course." replied the woman, her gentle voice coming from about thirty degrees to the right. "Your sister took care of everything for you. Would you perhaps like to try the dress on?"

"Certainly. Akira, would you mind guiding me again?" Lilly extended an arm outwards.

"Not at all," replied her sister, who took up the arm and guided Lilly to the changing areas. The shop owner followed with the mannequin holding the dress, and a little while later Lilly stepped out of the changing room in the white silk wedding dress. Four-inch heels, the kind she would wear at the wedding itself, had been put on in place of her normal shoes, elevating the bottom of the dress to just above the floor. Lilly wobbled slightly, unused to walking in such footwear. _I need to practice walking in these before the big day_, she thought.

"Well, sis? How does it feel?" asked Akira at her side.

Without the burden of sight, it was far easier for Lilly to imagine that this was the day itself, and she was stood in front of the altar with Hisao in front of all the wedding guests, as they were joined in holy matrimony. _You may now kiss the bride_, said the imaginary vicar, and Lilly could almost feel Hisao's lips brush against hers.

"It's perfect." said Lilly.


End file.
